Catechism Links [1]
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“Visitation”
by Juan del Castillo, 1630s |
Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Micah 5:1-4a
Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.
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Commentary on Mi 5:1-4a
The Prophet Micah, a contemporary of the Prophet Isaiah, speaks in the voice of God (“Thus says the Lord…”) prophesying that the Messiah will come from the Clan of Ephrathah. At that time, this group was synonymous with the town of Bethlehem which was roughly 5 miles south of Jerusalem (see Joshua 15:59 and Ruth 4:11). The reference to the origin of the ruler as being “of old” is a reference to the ancient line of King David.
Eight centuries before Christ, Micah foresees that Israel’s domination by foreign powers will end only with the Messiah. The intervening years are seen by the prophet as analogous to the labor pains of childbirth. His prophecy is consistent with the Emmanuel oracle from Isaiah 7:15. The passage concludes with the attributes of the future monarch, that he will not only bring peace: but “he shall be peace” (even clearer in the Jerusalem translation “He himself will be peace”).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
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Commentary on Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Here the psalmist implores the Lord to send the Messiah (“Rouse your power, and come to save us”). This will be the gift that fulfills all hopes (“Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name”).
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Reading II: Hebrews 10:5-10
Brothers and sisters:
When Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight.
Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll,
behold, I come to do your will, O God.’“
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings,
holocausts and sin offerings,
you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law.
Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.”
He takes away the first to establish the second.
By this “will,” we have been consecrated
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
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Commentary on Heb 10:5-10
The words of Psalm 40:7 are attributed to Christ at his incarnation: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire.” St. Paul continues by referring to the four main types of Jewish sacrifices; peace offerings, cereal offerings, holocausts, and sin offerings. God is less interested in the prescribed time, place, or form of the offering as he is in the heart’s intent. Christ annuls the law requiring sacrifices of this type and becomes the sacrifice, the sin offering, that fulfills the requirement of the law for all time.
CCC: Heb 10:5-10 606; Heb 10:5-7 462, 516, 2568; Heb 10:5 488; Heb 10:7 2824; Heb 10:10 614, 2824
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Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
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Commentary on Lk 1:39-45
St. Luke’s nativity story continues with Mary’s journey to visit Elizabeth. In this passage, we see the first meeting between John the Baptist (the child in Elizabeth’s womb) and Jesus (now growing in Mary’s womb). Here also is one of the foundational scripture passages for the “Hail Mary” prayer: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” This greeting of Elizabeth’s sets the stage for the beautiful Canticle of Mary which follows immediately.
"St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: "See how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he speaks by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heard by his actions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his Mother's womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Savior is about to come" ("Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio")." [5]
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? "In the Old Testament, the title 'my lord' is frequently used for the Davidic king (e.g., 1 Kings 1:31; 2:38; Psalm 110:1). In the Spirit, Elizabeth may thus recognize that Mary bears her king, the Messiah. Moreover, in the Old Testament, the Hebrew name of God, YHWH, was translated in the Septuagint as 'Lord' (kyrios). So far in Luke, that word has thus been used to refer to the Lord God, [Luke 1:6, 9, 11, 15-17, 25,28,32.] but now it is used for the first of many times for Jesus." [6]
CCC: Lk 1:41 523, 717, 2676; Lk 1:43 448, 495, 2677; Lk 1:45 148, 2676
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Reflection:
The final candle is lighted in the Advent Wreath, and we come together on this, the fourth Sunday of our Advent journey, to worship the one who came, who is, and who is to come. Scripture recalls the prophecy of his first advent. The Prophet Micah sees the coming of the Messiah in his prophetic vision. He sees the great shepherd being born to be peace for all mankind. We hear his words and have a better understanding of the poor chief priests and scribes who heard the Prophet’s words: “his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth.” How could they know that the Messiah’s greatness was not wrapped in majestic purple robes but in swaddling clothes, in a manger?
How could they understand, those religious leaders who prided themselves on performing ritual sacrifices of all the prescribed types, that the Messiah they expected would come to be a sacrifice that would end the need for any other sacrifice, for all time? The reality of what the Messiah was coming to bring was a salvific gift that they could not, in their most pious dreams, conceive.
Our anticipation of the Nativity of Christ grows as the Gospel of St. Luke relays the story of how the Blessed Mother, after being told by the Archangel Gabriel she was to be with child, travels to see for herself that the second part of the angel’s message to her was true. Elizabeth, her cousin and the wife of Zechariah, was indeed with child. This was surprising since she was thought to be barren and was now clearly pregnant.
The meeting of these holy women and the response of the fetal St. John the Baptist gives us a prelude to the joy that will be announced by the angels in Bethlehem at the birth of the Savior. St. John leaps with joy in Elizabeth’s womb, giving us words we pray so frequently: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
For us this day is one to put aside the stress and commercialization of the season causes and to join with St. John, leaping for joy at the coming of the sacrifice that makes us whole. We will celebrate that nativity in a few short days. Now we recall his purpose in coming, leading us home to the Father as was his intent.
Pax
In other years: December 19th
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Visitation” by Juan del Castillo, 1630s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 349-50.
[6] The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz © 2018, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI, p. 49.
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